Readers taking aim at gun control laws

Thursday

Mar 7, 2013 at 6:00 AM

As the country wrestles with how to handle the horrific situation in Newtown and other shootings, a recent issue of the Telegram & Gazette proves the problem with gun laws that many gun owners complain about — that unless gun laws are enforced on those who break them, more gun-control laws solve nothing.

Gun-control factions love to cite our strict gun laws, yet the Telegram & Gazette documented two situations where criminals were arrested and charged with possessing illegal guns, yet were not sentenced to jail as is supposed to happen.

In one situation, in Southbridge, a criminal was arrested for possession of a firearm without an FID card, carrying a firearm without a license, and improper storage of a firearm. The result? His charges were dismissed.

The second situation, which occurred in Oxford, saw two people arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to sell, a scale, a large amount of cash, and a pistol. Again, they had no proper licenses for the gun. The result? Six months’ probation.

But once again, licensed gun owners, who have proved that they are law-abiding citizens by getting the proper permits, are facing more onerous gun laws. The FID card was created in 1968. Since that time the restrictions have grown and the penalties for gun crimes become more harsh. Yet criminals continue to ignore them.

Passing more laws will not solve this problem. The criminals see our laws and laugh all the way out of court and back to their criminal behavior.